Public must pay for its government

The Lackawanna County Government Study Commission's wayward path into the private investigation business is woeful public policy.

Commissioners have far exceeded their public mandate to study the county government by authorizing a ham-handed "investigation" of certain county contracts.

This is supposed to be some sort of public service exercise. Even worse than the project itself, however, is that it is funded entirely by a single individual, commission Chairman Charles Volpe.

Mr. Volpe put up $10,000 of his own money to hire a gumshoe after the commission voted unanimously to try to give the witch hunt the color of official government conduct.

It's bad enough that the U.S. Supreme Court and federal election law enable individuals, such as the Koch brothers, to try to take control of the political process through their limitless finances. It's bad enough that Pennsylvania law allows unlimited campaign contributions to candidates for state office.

It is preposterous for the law to allow a single individual to fund what is billed as a government project. It should be illegal.

The public pays for a web of government oversight agencies, from police and the district attorney at the local level through the state auditor general and attorney general through the FBI and other Department of Justice agencies. If a government project is worth doing, the public should pay for it. If it is unworthy, taxpayers then have recourse at the polls.

Mr. Volpe is wealthy and he is free to use his money as he chooses - including to be an outsized voice in the electoral process, as he did in financing the campaign that led to the creation of the commission.

But that is where the influence of his or anyone else's wealth should stop. Lawmakers should amend state law to prevent any individual from personally financing any government enterprise.

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